"Wednesday's budget hearings showed us a state moving backward. Our leaders talk of shared sacrifice, but they shut out any consideration of new revenue. The vision they offer of a 'broke' state simply hides the real culprit -- our broken tax system.

"A state budget is a moral document. The cuts we heard agency heads describe -- closing community mental health centers, freezing enrollment in children's health insurance, reducing court days, leaving forests more vulnerable to catastrophic fires, failing to preserve our history -- are immoral and deliberate. If Governor Bentley and the Legislature wanted to set a different course, they could take a balanced approach that blends careful cuts with new revenue. We can't cut our way to a better Alabama."